1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to new and useful improvements in disposable plastic film gloves. More particularly, the invention relates to plastic film gloves manufactured in strip form with all of the material between the fingers and to the side and base of the gloves cut out and the fingers of one glove connected to the wrist openings of the succeeding glove by a perforated portion arranged to permit the easy separation of one glove from the next. The strip of gloves, for convenience, may be stored in rolls or in overlapping reversed layers in a dispensing carton for easy dispensing of separate gloves from the strip.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Disposable plastic film gloves are well known in the prior art. Gloves of this type are prepared by heat sealing the periphery of two plastic films in the outline of the glove and die cutting the plastic material to the shape of the glove leaving a glove consisting of two layers of plastic film sealed at its periphery and open at the wrist for insertion of the hand. The glove may have all of the fingers if desired or may be in the form of a mitten structure having only a thumb. In the past, disposable plastic film gloves have usually been die cut separately and stored in separate boxes, usually designed for easy removal of the individual gloves for use. Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,865 discloses a dispensing carton for plastic film gloves and other sheet form objects which is designed for easy dispensing of the object packaged. There is a commercial objection to the die cutting and packaging of individual plastic film gloves, however, in that an excessive amount of labor is required in the handling and packaging of the individual gloves. As a result, there has been a need for a suitable design of plastic film gloves in the form of a continuous strip from which the individual gloves may be pulled apart or separated easily for use. This reduces the labor of packaging and shipping of the gloves by a very substantial amount.
There are a large variety of prior art references, patents and otherwise, which disclose disposable items of various sorts in strip or roll form and perforated for ease of dispensing and separation. Buford B. Smith, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,851,760 and 3,735,865 disclose plastic film aprons in a dispensing roll arangement. The prior art of record against each of those patents is pertinent to the general suggestion of the concept of providing sheet form articles in dispensing rolls or packages and perforated for separating one item from another. The prior art, however, is primarily concerned with the dispensing of sheet form articles in a form where the shape of the article is conducive of the easy separation of the distinct articles without the necessity of tearing away separate portions to make the article useful. Thus, it is relatively easy to provide bibs or aprons or the like in dispensing rolls or strips since these items can be constructed in a way that when separated there is no further portion to be removed to make the item operable. Stroller U.S. Pat. No. 3,229,875 discloses a dispensing carton for a variety of types of sheet form material. The various items suggested include plastic film aprons, bibs, socks, panties, and gloves. In the case of sheet form gloves, however, the gloves are arranged for seperation along perforated lines and it is necessary to tear away the portion around the fingers of the gloves and to separate the individual fingers to make the gloves useful. This extra effort on the part of the user essentially negates the advantage of supplying the gloves in a roll or strip form.